CBC extends ‘Coronation Street’ pact

Multi-year deal includes VOD rights

LONDON — Canadian pubcaster CBC has reupped its contract to license U.K. blue-collar soap “Coronation Street.”

The multi-year agreement with ITV Studios Global Entertainment for the first time includes digital catch-up rights enabling auds to watch the show in Canada via iTunes and on CBC’s own VOD service.

In Canada, episodes of “Coronation Street,” the flagship soap for U.K. web ITV since the 1960s, air approximately nine months after the U.K. broadcasts, but with new, daily transmissions at 6.30 p.m. Canadian viewers will eventually catch up with Blighty.